Bacterium

Carcass bacterial mats

Beggiatoa spp.

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic Found in 3 oceans

Depth

From coastal waters to the deep sea, wherever there is sulfide

Size

Microscopic filaments, mats of several square meters

Diet

Energy drawn from hydrogen sulfide (chemosynthesis)

Zone

The sea floor · 200 – 3,500 m

Key facts

• These bacteria form white mats, because they store very shiny sulfur.
• They draw their energy from the sulfide released by the fatty bones of whales.
• In Monterey Canyon, white filaments covered up to 15 m² around a skeleton in 8 months.
• Some store nitrate to breathe where there is no oxygen left.

And the sperm whale?

They often cover the bones of dead whales, at the stage when bacteria break down the fats.

Verified sources

1. Grünke (2010), Diversity of mat-forming sulfide-oxidizing bacteria at continental margins, thèse, Univ. Bremen
2. Science News, Decades of Dinner
3. Smith & Baco (2003), Ecology of whale falls at the deep-sea floor

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

GrenadierFamily Macrouridae Tripod fishBathypterois grallator Swimming sea cucumberEnypniastes eximia Giant sea spiderColossendeis colossea Wolftrap anglerfishThaumatichthys sp. SnailfishFamily Liparidae